(Newser)
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When health inspectors come aboard your cruise ship, it's probably a bad sign if your instinct is to hide the food. But that's what the CDC caught the crew of the Silver Shadow doing in a recent surprise inspection, reports CNN, which describes the boat as "one of the plushest cruise ships afloat." After getting an anonymous tip from a crew member, investigators discovered an "organized effort" to hide 15 food trolleys in crew members' cabins. One crew member said they'd been ordered to sleep with the food in the rooms every night to avoid inspection.

The hidden food included things like meat and cheese, none of which were refrigerated. And this kind of behavior might not be terribly rare; one lawyer specializing in cruise lawsuits says ships often hide their food when inspectors show up. "There is typically a scramble that takes place," he said. Absolutely nothing will happen as a result of the failed June 17 inspection, however, because the CDC's cruise inspection program doesn't have any enforcement powers. (Though inspectors were able to douse the food with liquid chlorine to ensure it wouldn't be served.)

"Absolutely nothing will happen as a result of the failed June 17 inspection, however, because the CDC's cruise inspection program doesn't have any enforcement powers." Maybe their authority needs to be tweaked just a bit.